Bordering on the head-wrecking

Yet again upon switching on the BBC as another debate on Brexit is in full flow I hear another jingoistic leave-at-all-costs Tory MP talk about the 'Irish' Border, and how it is Dublin that is to blame for all these travails.
I have a newsflash for all you Union Jack hat wearers - it is NOT the Irish but in truth the BRITISH border we are talking about that separates the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland.
The people of the Republic of Ireland did not vote to leave the European Union (nor did the people in the 6 counties of Ulster that make up Northern Ireland), we have not rejected attempts at putting a plausible workable solution in place that ensures a soft border remains as is.
In fact it was NOT the Irish Government who proposed the backstop idea - take a bow Theresa May and you're Whitehall mandarins!

Like many of my fellow countrymen and women I have visited Great Britain a number of times in my lifetime and I love visiting London.
 My problem is not with the British people whom I have received the warmest of welcomes from whenever I went across the water on holiday;  My anger and ire is reserved for those MP's in Westminster who are willing to frogmarch their country over the plank into very uncertain waters -when the ship they are steering is only yards away from a safe harbour.

Under no circumstances does anyone I know want a return to a hard border and we would much rather be in a position where we can continue to buy out favourite UK goods in our supermarkets.

If I was a betting man I would say there would be many others who've watched a Tory MP or Brexit MEP rattle on with the palaver that "technological solutions are an easy way of avoiding the need for the backstop or a customs union" etc and in a fit of rage roared at the television "THEN TELL US WHAT THESE TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS ARE!", as another LEAVE shrieking protagonist yet again stumbles like a drunk man on a bouncy castle when asked to outline this Plan B they, in very abstract terms vaguer than Crytocurrency websites terms and condition, speak about.

Let's be quite clear about all of this - It really comes down to either the (A) UK remaining in the Customs Market or (B) accepting and implementing the backstop if they want the border to remain anywhere near as open as it is now.
There is NO other way to avoid a hard border, if neither of the two options above are implemented a hard border will be in place FULL STOP.

And as for all this jingoistic palaver from a number of Tory MP's (and some Labour MP's such as Kate Hoey etc) that the likes of Germany would be scared out of their wits over a 'No Deal' scenario and would come crawling on their knees in tears, begging London do a deal - puhleaaase!
Yes it is undeniable that the United Kingdom is one of the top 10 trading partners that Germany deals with, believe you me, Berlin's attention is firmly focussed on China, the USA and a host of other nations as it would not only feel confident in shielding themselves from the loss of UK trade by grabbing business  with these countries that the UK currently does which could very well earn it MORE money than it currently does with Queen Elizabeth II's Kingdom.

I dare any Leave MP or Brexit Party MEP to go to Strabane or Jonesborough and see how long you would last spouting your devoid of any sort of evidence clap-trap ye continue to proffer on their airwaves and into our living rooms via our TV screens.
Us Irish want to continue trading with our neighbour across the water (who make far more money off us than we them) and hope that common sense will prevail which will see a plausible deal voted on by the House of Commons which can allow us all breathe a heavy sigh of relief in the process.

With all the talk today about the Greek election result, many commentators were reminding us that Alexis Tsipras  when he was Prime Minister talked tough about going toe to toe with the European Union and not giving an inch, but in the end knowing how heavily the cards were stacked against his country, gave in and did a deal in the end.
I feel this is the way the next Prime Minister will go as there simply is no other way for him to go be it Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt that takes the reins.
My view has been strengthened by the recent deals between the Mercosur block of countries, Japan  and the European Union, as London would be like the kid seeking a 'backer' off his friend on his BMX as it would get him to his destination quicker, as even LEAVEers  would love to be able to enjoy some of the advantages - as they see it - the countries remaining inside the EU will enjoy under these deals.
The easiest and simplest route to obtaining a near carbon copy deal between Mercosur and the UK would - to my mind - be achieved via  remaining in the Customs Union and circumstances will continue to dictate that as time goes by the chances of the UK remaining inside that tent will only strengthen by the day.

So while I still remain very anxious over the current situation my gut feeling is that No Deal will be avoided as pragmatism finally beats  nationalistic fervour by a nose at the final hurdle.

P.S. a note to all those LEAVE MP/MEP's - what bit of the oft repeated "There will be NO renegotiation of the deal" that has been echoed loud and clear from Brussels, do ye not get?

Derby Delight

Towards a hallowed spot in Dublin 7, many regard as their earthy heaven on, a Friday in June at half past seven came folk from all over Dublin including Glasnevin.

Twas no ordinary walk they were they were taking, that this was a sporting pilgrimage there was no mistaking; Soon doing battle would be the greatest of foes, Shamrock Rovers and the mighty Bohs!

The talk on Twitter sent many a Gypsy heart a flutter, with our injury list Rovers would go through us like a hot knife to butter.
With so many of our stars on the treatment table, would their replacements be ready and able?

Given the stellar lineup Rovers could anoint, we in our hearts would be delighted to earn a point.
So as through the Turnstiles we did meander, many a chat focused on the suspension of Derek Pender.

However once the match got underway, out of their skins the Bohs team did play;
Our hopes began to rise a little due to the bravery of our largely second fiddle.

In the 15^th minute the referees whistle it did blow, as pointing to the penalty spot his hand it did go,
With bated breath we prayed it would go in, but it was missed – a mortal sin!
With hands on our head we began to dread, would Daniel Carr win it with his head?

Barely seven minutes later on the watch, Mandriou was handed a second penalty attempt of the match, fingers crossed he has the bottle to hit the ball full throttle.
Thankfully second time round he made no mistake as the residents of Connuaght Street wondered “is this an earthquake?”
Whilst the fans in the Jodi danced and spluttered ‘amen’ the Rovers fans were howling “it’s happening again”

It was to all that from the very start the Bohs players had come out of the tunnel full of heart.
Every move by the Rovers midfield was repelled by our defensive forcefield.

When the ref blew the whistle for half-time the positive vibes round Dalyer they did chime.
However 5 minutes into he second half the Hoops thought they would have the last laugh, as the home celebrations they did mar when the ball was slotted home by Daniel Carr.

The nerves of both fans were now up to 90, as any Rovers attack made us all jumpy, but was only eight minutes that we had to wait before Mandriou once more unlocked the gate.

A flicked on header from Allardice, found Mandriou who didn’t have to think twice,

With a kick of the ball flew like a rocket Danny had well and truly picked Alan Mannus pocket.
From 25 yards out there simply was no doubt, it was a goal of such magnificence about it even ESPN did shout.

Try as they might all night, the Rovers team huffed and puffed but of the Bohs goal they rarely had sight.
Lyons, Barker, Barry and Kirk all put in some unbelievable work, whilst on the rare occasions his services we did require, James Talbot was once again on fire.

So as the minute timer struck 101, the final whistle was blew and the job was done;
Those Rovers  fans who beforehand proclaimed they’d later be doing a merry dance trudged out of the ground to a man more than askance.

On yet another of those magical Dalymount Park nights, Keith Longs charges once again retained the bragging rights.
As Stephen Bradley was once more to rue a loss to this Bohs team, of further European nights we can once more dream!

Where now for the left after the local Elections?

So the lights in most of the count centres have now been switched off - Euro counts aside - and political activists and scientists across the country will be now trying to digest the outcome of peoples decisions in the ballot box on May 24th.
Overall the main news story of the elections was the success of the Green Party and the losses suffered by Sinn Fein.

But this to my mind was a clear example of media 'framing'.
The whole media news cycle was dominated by the elections wins for the Greens with acres of coverage given to stories around environmental issues saying these will dominate the next election and form a key part of the discussions in forming a government.
Yet I'm sure quite a few of ye reading this would be surprised to learn that 94.5% of the electorate did NOT vote for them, with the party led by Eamonn Ryan securing 5.5% of the total votes cast last Friday.

Don't get me wrong, it was still an impressive result as any party more than doubling their share of the vote compared to the last Local Elections in 2014 does deserve some attention.
When the Anti-Austerity Alliance (now Solidarity) and People Before Profit between them went from about 5 seats to over 20 five years ago this did not receive a morsel of the coverage that the Green party is receiving now.
But an important caveat to that 2014 election when those two parties alongside Sinn Fein made big gains was that there was an angry mood sweeping the country, with services and wages cut as a result of the I.M.F. Bailout.

While the two largest parties were once again Fianna Fail and Fine Gael (a fact quite a few people angrily ranted online about), some have lost sight of the huge significance of their combined vote.
In 1979 - the year I was born - These two parties got just under 3/4 of the vote gaining a share of just over 74% between them (They got a combined 81.1% two years later in the General Election!). now their share has gone down to 52.2% overall, a whopping drop of
Also in 1979 the result across Dublin saw FF and FG claim 2/3 of the entire council seats on offer, they are on a much reduced figure after last Friday's vote.
The best comparable seat data I can find is for the 1981 General election where FF and Fg won a total of 143 seats between them.
At the last General Election in 2016 their combined total was 94 seats, a drop of 49 seats,

Also back in 1979 the vast majority of the electorate was wedded to a party in the main and not the person - hence in many places you could have ran a dog for Fine Gael and a cat for Fianna Fail and both would be elected.
Today things are a lot different, with people more and more voting not alog straight party lines but by geography.

I was at the Fingal, Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown and South Dublin County Council tallying and full counts in both the RDS over the weekend, and quite a few times I heard people remark at how crazy the transfers were going and that the patterns were way off kilter from where they used to be.
For example - Sinn Fein's Paul Donnelly topped the poll in the Ongar Ward in Blanchardstown on Fingal County Council with 21% of the vote.
A lot of his no2's were going to Kieran Dennison of Fine Gael, something that simply would have been unheard of even ten years ago.
Why were we noticing this seismic change n transfer demographic?   Simply put - the FG candidate lived near the SF candidate, and lots of people voted 'local' down their ballot paper.

Yes Green issues are now higher upon the issues list than they were and yes there is a noticeable change in peoples voting habits; but for the left wing parties such as Solidarity-People Before Profit and the Workers Party etc (as for Sinn Fein I don't see them as a true 'left' party myself, but many others would characterise them as being so), the biggest issue that faces them, and played a significant part in their losing so many seats was turnout.

This is the very big elephant in the room facing these parties and it was THE key reason Solidarity-People Before Profit saw a 1.1% drop in their combined support in 2014, where they went from 3% of the vote share in 2014 to 1.9% this time.
It was also a sizable reason why Sinn Fein went down from 15.3% to 9.5% this time which was a drop of around 1/3 in 5 years.
When the left got their significant seat gains in 2014 I immediately sounded a note of caution - In a lot of working class areas the turnout was just 39-41%, and I remarked back then that if the left-wing parties could not get this 60% of the electorate out to vote in the future they would suffer - and they have.

I had predicted months ago that the turnout would be in the lower-mid 30's, and in most areas it appears it was;  Some staunch working class wards sadly saw LESS than 30% come out to vote.

Another noticeable thing that showed even more just how many people have become disconnected from the political process was the fact that so many local election candidates had to campaign with very few helpers, as they found it near impossible to get people to come out and knock on doors or drop leaflets.
I believe THIS was the reason why we had so many people complaining on Twitter and Facebook that no political party had yet knocked on their door; and not because they were scared to do so, as some of the complainants had alleged.
Had the left candidates that narrowly lost their seats had more helpers who were thus able to engage constructively with more constituents on their doorsteps, I believe some if not all may have kept their seats.
(There were also some candidates who were essentially 'paper candidates' in 2014 who against the odds got elected by the tide of anger, who to be honest did very little on the ground for the people they represented, and thus it was no real surprise to see them lose their seat) 

This chronically low turnout meant that the number of voters who placed 'Green' issues at the top of their list of concerns increased in percentage terms and also - for example - saw a Fine Gael Councillor elected in Tallaght South, a place were they crashed and burned in 2014;  With a number of areas recording a turnout of less than 15%, it increased the percentage of the core Fine Gael vote in that area and Baby Perrapadam was duly elected to South Dublin County Council.

Also in parts of the Ongar Ward in Blanchardstown the turnout was as low as 22 and 23% respectively while other less working-class parts saw a much higher turnout and a hard-left councillor, Matt Waine of Solidarity narrowly missed out on keeping his council seat.

These were areas that saw high turnouts in the Marriage Equality and Abortion Referendums, yet the populous was not motivated to get out and cast their ballot this time.
I canvassed for Tania Doyle in the Ongar Ward in Blanchardstown and it was strongly apparent that the mood was flatter than a pancake.
My hope that the Divorce referendum might have brought the total back up nearer the 2014 turnout proved to be misguided.

A friend of mine living in Dublin 12 made a very good point to me before the election remarking "The left only do well when there is anger, when things are going well their vote falls", I would also add that unless said left parties have a good set of policy proposals, in times like the one we are in now these parties will suffer.

At the next general election if it comes to pass again that in constituencies with a mixture of working class and middle-class areas, that the % of people voting in the working class areas ends up being near half that of middle class parts (as happened in areas during this local election) the sitting left TD's in Dail Eireann could find themselves in big trouble as people headed to the polls.
There is bound to be an increase in support for the Green Party and my gut feeling is that it will be more keenly noticed in the middle-class areas (It was constituencies with sizable areas of that demographic that returned  5 of the 6 Green Party TD's to Dail Eireann in 2007).

 So in places such as Dublin West and Dublin North the Left TD's will likely find Green candidates closely snapping at their heels as it stands.

So again I re-iterate the point even more forcefully that unless the left parties can get the working class vote out in sizable numbers in their area they will be in further trouble into the future.
It is going to be a considerable task for sure and I don't know what the solution to the problem is, but unless they can find that magic formula that makes those extra badly needed votes come flooding in, we could have an even more right-wing Dail next time out.

Without such devoted fans Irish Club football would not be what it is today – No thanks to the FAI.

A lot of people are rightly angry over the revelations that have come out regarding John Delaney and the Football Association of Ireland, but us Irish club supporters - while also angry at latest developments - are not in the least bit surprised

I am endangered species around the Tallaght area in that despite being born and reared in Dublin 24, I am a huge fan of Bohemian Football Club.
My excuse is that back in 1996, when I finally decided I had enough of screaming at the television everytime then Liverpool Steve McManaman would dribble the ball to the corner flag, run out of room and yet again cede the ball to the opposition; I decided to support an Irish club instead.
Truth be told I initially said I supported Bohs just to really annoy my twin brother who had taken to supporting Shamrock Rovers, alongside his support for the Anfield Reds.
 But then he challenged me to put up or shut up, so I headed off one Sunday afternoon to see Bohs play St Francis in a Leinster Senior Cup match, alongside my late father, who was born and reared in Dundrum and used to go to Rovers games in Glenmalure Park in Milltown.

 I have made firm friends as a result of supporting the Gypsies, one group of them I first stumbled across when sitting on a 16 bus en-route to Santry Stadium, when one of them asked me if I knew how to get from Omni Shopping Centre to the ground.
Little did we know what we were about to witness, as Bohs came back from 4-1 down at half-time to win 6-4 in what has become known in folklore as the “Santry Siro Massacre.”

To be brutally honest, back then the standards of football played in the then Bord Gais and later Eircom League left a hell of a lot of be desired, with high balls galore and matches often resembling a Crystal Palace v Wimbledon fixture circa 1991.
Talk about having a creaky neck after 90 minutes!
Back then the only time you would see anyone high up from the FAI at any of the matches was at the presenting of trophies, and even at that it would not be surprising to hear the person concerned had only turned up with fifteen minutes of the match left to play and so forth. Yes while the league was officially a separate entity to the FAI (they did not merge until 2006), it was still rather telling how aloof and out of touch the association were to the needs and operations of the club game in it’s jurisdiction.

I can remember travelling to see Bohs play in Belarus in 2003 and the chatter amongst the fans on the plane turned to the trouble the club’s Secretaries had in trying to secure visa’s for the players to enter the country ahead of the match against Borisov Bate.
I’m not sure if it was the case on this trip, but I know on other occasions it was also a nightmare to try and secure a pitch for the squad to train on the day before the match and so forth.
A lot, if not all the preparations would have to be undertaken by the club itself, be it sourcing a hotel to stay in, transport during the trip, training facilities etc.
I contrast this with the opposition we often faced, and how they fared with regards their association and Levidia Tallinn, in particular is a club that springs to mind.
In this case, when they were coming over in 2007 to play their second-leg tie in Dalymount Park, the Estonian FA handled most if not all of the necessary details for their trip, with a fax being sent to the FAI detailing the teams list of requirements for their brief stay in the Irish capital.
Thus they did not have to worry about finding a pitch to train on, or a hotel to stay in as this would have all been sorted well in advance of the team stepping onto the plane at Lennart Meri International airport in Tallinn.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that trip to Belarus in 2003, given how hair raising at times it turned out to be.
A group of about 50 supporters flew to Minsk in Belarus via Paris, and the aircraft operated by the national carrier Belavia truly had seen better days, with holes in the, the seats, carpets and curtains on the windows that looked like something from a 70’s sitcom.
About an hour or so into our journey one of the older gentleman of our group roared “Here Mick, check out Number 3 on the English part of the safety leaflet”, which was soon met with uproarious laughter from a few other older gentlemen in his vicinity.
Curiosity led me too to check out the safety literature and I can still remember what was contained in point 3: “To inflate, pull hard on knob below the jacket”

Upon arrival at Minsk 2 International airport, we ere made wait for over three hours before they finally let us go through passport control and onto the coach.
The immigration control people claimed they had not got any confirmations from the Belarus Embassy in London (which also served as the consulate for Ireland) that we had successfully obtained our visa’s and were able to enter the country.
Even after showing them the completed visa documents the Embassy had faxed to the office in Dalymount Park, the officials would not budge an inch until we handed over more money.
(The same fate befell the squad and the press pack who had arrived via Shannon the day before)
Eventually after bartering them down we all gritted out teeth and handed over the amount per head asked of us and gave a deep sigh of relief as we finally set off.

I must say Minsk was (and from what I see online) and is a charming city, with wide boulevards, and buildings that resemble Moscow in the 1980’s and my god was it clean, I only ever saw one piece of litter on the street, an empty McDondalds fries container near one of it’s outlets.
The Borisov Arena is just over 70km from Minsk and ordinarily it would take out 65 minutes to get there, but we managed to get there far quicker thanks to our police escort.
firstly as we reached a sign that basically said we had reached Minsk City limits, we had to pull over as a senior policeman entered the bus and began chatting to our guide.
We were soon told that we had to hand over X amount each (If I recall I think it was the equivalent of €5 a head) before we would be allowed to proceed any further.

What followed was the scariest road trip I have ever had to take in my life;  Everytime the police car in front of us would come upon a vehicle in front of us on the highway as we hurtled along at breakneck speed, the sirens would go on.
All but one car pulled off the road into the dirt track to let us pass (including a yellow car that subsequently crashed into a tree and I can still clearly see the bonnet up and the steam rising from the vehicle!), the one car who are a period still ignored the siren call was eventually overtaken by police vehicle and rammed off the road I kid you not!.
We got soaked to the skin during the match (I have yet to come across rain like it since) which we lost 1-0 and our clothes were stuck to us like wallpaper as we boarded the coach back to the capital.
My last firm memory of that trip was when we were queuing up in the airport to board a Belavia flight back to Shannon airport (it was discontinued in 2007), when a border guard asked in broken English “You go Ruski now?” (another name people call Russia), when one of the group retorts “No no, ya see we’re from Dublin not Roscommon” (a county which contains the town of Rooskey!)

There was also the time in Leipája where we had travelled to see Bohs play in an Inter-Toto cup match; A very drunk group of locals mistakenly thought we were English and ran after us shouting their heads off.
Had myself and my companion not managed to flag down and get into a passing taxi when we did, I dread to think what could have happened to us!
Given European ties for Irish clubs usually take place just two to three weeks after the draw had been made, it can be a very expensive trip to watch them play away, especially if it is in Israel or Armenia, so a lot of fans who would love to go simply cannot due to the costs involved.
But it is testament to the devotion and dedication of Irish club supporters that so many do make the enormous financial sacrifices to fly from Dublin to the like of Frankfurt or Paris and then get on a lengthy flight to  Tel-Aviv or Yerevan.
It is these same people who are by and large the reason we have such an exciting and competitive top division league in this country, spending endless days and nights battling to save their respective clubs when they hit financial turbulence be it Shamrock Rovers supporters  in 2005, Cork City in 2010 or Limerick FC now.
Not forgetting the times it was the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland (PFAI) who had to step in on occasion when players wages at some clubs had not been paid.
So the FAI were unable on occasion to hand over €5-10,000 to ensure players could ensure their mortgage was paid, there was food on the table, but were able to find the money to pay their CEO’s enormous €30,000 a month salary, €3,000 a month  rent AND a near €40,000 credit card bill racked up in just six months (how much was racked up in the previous months since he was first given the card?)
Then there were the clubs that racked up huge debts in their Icarus-like pursuit of European glory such as Shelbourne and my own Bohemians, all under the watch of the FAI who did not undertake the due diligence they should have to put a stop to it,
(Note I am not excusing what went on with my club, rather I am using this example to highlight further incompetence by the FAI).
And again in both cases it was the tireless efforts of the fans from both teams who have worked tirelessly to ensure the Tolka and Dalymount Park clubs stayed afloat.

Sports and political commentators are expressing disquiet over the fact that so little is known as to what went on in the FAI, and that to date the association has remained very tight-lipped in regards it’s past affairs.
Many a fan of an Airtricity League fan, in particular the club’s secretary can empathise with them as they lose count of the many times their club was sanctioned by the FAI, but were unable to find out the exact reasons why they were penalised when they sought more information on the matter.

It is worth noting that there have been some positives amidst all the gloom, notably the creation of underage SSE Airtricity leagues, which sees the underage teams of Bohemians, Dundalk, Cork City etc do battle week in week out.
We are already seeing the fruits of this policy as a number of exciting young players make their first team debuts this season, but many fans are asking why the initiative took so long to be implemented.

 In conclusion I am cautiously optimistic for the future; there has been a noticeable rise in attendances at Airtricity League matches this season which is very welcome news and there is talk of  the entire FAI board being stood down.
The old guard being replaced by a new board that truly cares more about developing soccer in this country and less about the Mercs and perks would truly be the icing on the cake.